We welcome your words, memories, and stories here, as we all cope with the tragic end to Claudia's beautiful and inspiring life.
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Celebration of Life:
Claudia's memorial service and celebration of life was held on Saturday, February 25, 2017.
The Salewske and Kendall families wish to convey our heartfelt thanks to all who attended, sent cards and flowers, and attended 'in spirit.' We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support, and wish we could have hugged and thanked each and every person there. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Memorial Scholarship Fund:
We are proud to announce that as of February 1, 2017, the Claudia K. Salewske Memorial Fund has been established! Donations will be accepted in any amount through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. It is our goal to create two memorial scholarships in Claudia's honor, as we know she would love nothing more. Thank you in advance for helping us create Claudia's lasting legacy.
To make a donation today, follow this secure link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B4W39SXTD2PA6
The Claudia K. Salewske Memorial Fund is a memorial fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF). All donations will be processed via SVCF, a 501 (c)(3), public charity registered in the United States (ID 20-5205488). SVCF will provide a formal acknowledgement letter containing tax-deduction language for your records. Contributions will be tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Tributes
Leave a tributeSo Claudia encouraged us to get together to rehearse. We met at Janet’s house and had the best of times together. Claudia guided us, helped to gently correct us, and worked out the harmonies with us. Her enthusiasm for singing was very inspiring, and we enjoyed every performance with her. We became the Spirit Sisters in every sense of the word. The folks at church had such a positive and joyous response to our musical offerings.
It was one of the hardest things we ever had to do when we sang at her memorial service for the first time without her. But we were determined to do this for her! We knew it would mean so much to her. We sang her favorite Spirit Sisters song.
When I think of my time with her, I think of joy, joy, joy. Now there is such sorrow. Nothing can really replace that joy. Nothing can ever fill such a gap. I will miss her forever and treasure all the times we had together. With Love, Kat
The Reeder Family
Elizabeth
WE MISS YOU!
Lots of love,
Beth Wyman
Claudia was such a good wholesome individual, one that you wanted to stay friends with forever. Her family was just a gracious and welcomed me to their home when I had just missed Mike and Claudia because of his transfer to Hawaii. I did manage to meet up the next year in Honolulu to experience our friendship and to be rewarded with a trip to the Officer Club on Diamondhead. It was a beautiful meeting. Many years later I was able to spend some time with Claudia in their California home. I was graciously welcomed and Claudia showed me the area of Gilroy. Not to mention her insistence of giving me her apricot jam and many bags of home-grown almonds for my journey.
Claudia, in her wonderful writing skills, sent me the most beautiful letter when I turned 70. I will cherish it and little did I know it was the last physical word I would hear from her. Shocked and sadness are in my heart for my pen pal buddy and I will forever thank the day I brought my fifty cents to school fifty-seven years ago.
I will remember Mrs. Salweske as one of my most-loved teachers....a very bright light in this world!!
My prayers and love go out to the Salewske family. May God comfort you and encourage you now and always.
Claudia was a tireless worker. She had fruit and vegetables growing all over her yard. I remember helping her to pick her strawberries. I sat on the ground and complained; she picked the strawberries. She and Mike had a small apricot orchard which consumed most of their time during the summers. The kids were just munchkins then. Mine were ten years older than hers and in school full time. So when we visited, it was usually at her home. She had really piled her plate full. Cleaning, cooking, child rearing, farming, school work, and writing, not to mention church activities.
Claudia was the very best of people. Believe me, if you needed help of any kind, she was there for you. She took care of lots of people. She would provide food, transportation, a shoulder to cry on, all with a smile and maybe a giggle. She was kind, loving, and sensitive to your feelings. She took on these responsibilities without seeking kudos for herself. She was always very discreet (no Facebook for her! ).
Claudia was highly organized. I’m sure she planned her days to the minute. When she was hired by Gilroy School District to write a book for the third graders about local history, she took it on with discipline and determination. She was a bit of a perfectionist, you know; and wanted this project to be as perfect as possible. This was the beginning of her later publication, “Pieces of the Past”.
Both of us went to work outside the house in the early eighties. We only saw each other occasionally until recently. Within the last few years (maybe five) we found ourselves part of the F.R.F.G membership. So we’ve been able to reestablish our friendship.
Her tragic death shocked and saddened me in terms that I am unable to express. I will miss her.
Throughout life we are often influenced by one or two people that inspire our careers. In some cases, those inspiring people have such a tremendous amount of charisma and charm to their style that we become followers and lifelong fans. Since the early 90’s, I have been a follower albeit a minion of Claudia Salewske. As a student, I was inspired by her passion for education. I too, found this passion for educating and pursued a career in education. Some 25 years later, I instruct students on the same Gilroy High campus that Claudia inspired me on with the same enthusiasm for education she had.
For her efforts in preserving the history of Gilroy, I thank her. To this day, I use the book she wrote, Image of America: Gilroy, to instruct my US History students, when we learn about our local history. As a lifelong Gilroyan, I feel very privileged to have known such a talented academic. Knowing that Mrs. Salewske contributed to the preservation of our city through her art makes us all invaluable. She will be missed but her contributions will always be preserved.
I will remain appreciative of the guidance provided to me and my peers at Gilroy High School in the 1990’s. I will also continue to remember her contributions each year, when we read from the pages of her book and learn more about who we all are.
Our world's been stripped and ripped
and torn
We have now lost your pith and form
We shake, we ache, we sink,
we cry
The truth of true we can't deny
But other facts bring hope
and cheer
The best is that you once were here
And while you were,
you gave so much
The world is better for your touch
The spark you brought
the stir you made
The gleam of you will never fade
You tickled the pen
you brushed the mind
And never left a page unsigned
The shadows darkened,
but have not won
They need and must give way to sun
We say goodbye
as you depart, but
You stay a beat in every heart.
Prayers to your family and may you hold dear memories close to your heart...
as she started her journey on school history curriculum for the museum, and then her book on Gilroy, as I was working at the museum at the time We kept her space open at the research table. We just dusted around her as she was a regular fixture. Lol! I appreciate her love of history and her honest search for the true facts. She will be missed, and my heart loosens for loss of her here on earth. But the angels sing.
My heart goes out to you! I first met Claudia at Gilroy High School. My older brothers, the Contreras boys; had her for English and she was their teacher. She was my CSF adviser and we all volunteered at the armory feeding the homeless and the Garlic Festival selling programs. She was filled with compassion and dedication to her students and her community. She was a mentor and helped me edit my college essays and assisted me with college paperwork. We kept in touch through the years and her and Mike became part of our family. Joining us at birthday parties, weddings and baby showers. She also encouraged me to write a children's book and provided feedback on my stories. She was eager to help and lend a hand. She even took my mother to Watsonville to her class and taught her stretching exercises to aid with my mothers back pain. My family prays for your family and forever remember her dedication and special notes that she often sent my family. Heaven has gained a special angel.
Ramiro, Aurelia Contreras along with Contreras siblings
-The Staff of Arcadia Publishing, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Leave a Tribute
So Claudia encouraged us to get together to rehearse. We met at Janet’s house and had the best of times together. Claudia guided us, helped to gently correct us, and worked out the harmonies with us. Her enthusiasm for singing was very inspiring, and we enjoyed every performance with her. We became the Spirit Sisters in every sense of the word. The folks at church had such a positive and joyous response to our musical offerings.
It was one of the hardest things we ever had to do when we sang at her memorial service for the first time without her. But we were determined to do this for her! We knew it would mean so much to her. We sang her favorite Spirit Sisters song.
When I think of my time with her, I think of joy, joy, joy. Now there is such sorrow. Nothing can really replace that joy. Nothing can ever fill such a gap. I will miss her forever and treasure all the times we had together. With Love, Kat
Please be patient.
Claudia’s Courage
I always looked forward to birthday cards from Claudia! As I look at the cards from years gone by, I see that she always wrote a lovely message inside that was relevant and personal to me. Wow!
Claudia visited Chuck in his last days. It takes courage to visit a dying friend, but Claudia had that kind of courage, and the word “courage” comes from the French “cour” which is the strength of the heart full of love.
That was Claudia: courage!
I can only hope I can also manifest this kind of courage for people in my life.
Love, Becky